Capturing audio data along with still images is a way of bringing “life” to a still image. The captured audio data is saved along with the captured image, and may be replayed when the image is viewed. Conventionally, the initiation of audio capture is an activity that is manually triggered by a user. For example, a user manually triggers a period of audio recording by pressing a button in anticipation of also initiating an image-capture operation. Some still cameras utilize a first position on a shutter-release button to initiate audio capture and/or focusing. Other digital still cameras provide a manual audio record button distinct from the shutter button. Manually depressing the audio record button after capturing an image provides the ability to subsequently annotate an image with a verbal narration.
Some conventional digital cameras typically provide the capability to capture audio data for some pre-set, fixed duration determined with reference to a manually initiated trigger. For example, an audio record feature may only record for 5 seconds from the time a manual audio record button is activated. Thus, the length of the pre-set recording duration affects whether the captured audio data are useful. If the pre-set duration of the recording period is too long, the captured audio data are likely to include a substantial portion of undesirable sound; if too short, there may be sounds occurring outside the pre-set duration that a user would like to associate with the still image. Requiring the user to initiate audio data recording in close coordination with image capture also ignores the fact that the user cannot predict the timing of the desired audio data. For example, the desirable audio data may occur prior to or contemporaneous with the capture of a still image. Thus, if audio data are captured beginning only after the image has been captured, the desired audio will already have passed and go uncaptured.
Therefore, manual coordination imposed upon a user between the predetermined audio recording period and still image capture is a constraint upon the user as to the time within which a picture must be taken. In other words, the user is limited to capturing an image during the audio recording period in order to obtain the best coordination between picture and sound.